Catkin, I agree that an outdoor, in the shade, bouquet is great to have. My favorite feature is that the bees continue to visit the flowers that way. I didn't know they'd last for weeks though, I have got to give that a try. Great tip! My most reliable flowers for cutting are: Rudbeckia hirta - these last for 2 weeks in a vase! Scabiosa caucasica - good long stems, I cut it when the center hasn't opened yet, they last for 7-10 days. Annual snapdragons, Rocket mix Globe thistle - everyone seems to love this one. It's a PITA in the garden (reseeds) but I keep it due to popular demand. Heuchera flower spikes - just adore the zing that these add, no matter what color you have. tall phlox Russian sage Bennary's Giant zinnias Catananche, aka Cupid's Dart - flower looks like chickory, and the seedpod dries into a little pearly sphere. Looks great either way! Yarrow. Cut it right at the base and strip off all the foliage. Lamb's ears flower spikes, but only if cut before they fully open. Shasta daisies Rocky mountain penstemon Pasqueflower seedheads (fuzzy little puffs - I deliver flower to a hair salon and they go wild over the frizzy hair look) Allium 'purple sensation' Hosta leaves Lady fern fronds Statice - I haven't grown this one in awhile, but it comes in some great, vibrant colors and is pretty fun to grow. It looks like a weed at first though, so don't pull it! Lavender Culinary sage leaves, sometimes flowers too for a bride's bouquet, a trailing vine of clematis is pretty neat. Tulips Daffodils Hyacinth Fringed bleeding heart (dicentra eximia) For my own bouquets were a week + of vase life is not expected, I also use roses, sweet peas, and peonies. I am too stingy to cut things like Siberian Irises or delphinium because they seem too fleeting and rare to cut. Those are my favorites. What are yours?

Thanks guys. I'll probably be printing this thread out and passing it along. ;-D Well I think that for the next little while, every new client is going to entitle me to money in the bulb fund. I've been telling myself that I could gift some of the bulbs I'm ordering, but I may decide that its not reasonable to give them away before I've seen them bloom myself. he he In the meantime, I've cleaned up the far side of the house and set up shelving against the west wall so I have plenty of room to winter my seedlings. Genez

Hi Avedon. do not despair of Devoniensis. It supposedly takes eight (8!) years for them to bulk up inot large bushes, but they eventually do. And the blooms are indeed to die for. Maggie's blooms look like WS 2000, but WS 2000 likes to have these very long canes instead of the nice scrubby shape. Beautiful bush, and beautiful bloom coverage. Even my baby Maggie has that nice shape which I really like. Belindas Dream is a beauty! Another lovely southern rose. Yours is way ahead of mine this year. All the roses in the section with WS2000 at a year old. All in all I think Devonieies is my favorite of these gorgeous roses. The blooms are achingly beautiful. What a lovely rose! And who wouldn't love a Texas bluebonnet? kay And that beautiful soft apricot of Pearle D'ore is lovely. I also really love Lady Ann Kidwell.

It depends on a number of factors. I've had it over winter and live up to three years in regular gardens. It isn't as pretty after the first season when used as an annual, but unless it either gets frozen solid, or completely fries due to the heat extremes, it can live over several years. The longest lived one I had was a volunteer, having germinated from seed set by some I had planted. I finally ripped it out because it was so thick and woody, it literally was full of termites. That was in Zone 9b, Santa Clarita, CA in the mid SoCal desert. In 10a, Encino, CA, it seldom lasted past the first year. It didn't stand up to the lack of "winter" and the UV intensity.